Shawn Johnson East

Shawn Johnson East is an American former gymnast born in Des Moines, Iowa on January 19, 1992. Shawn is the 2008 Olympic balance beam gold medalist and team, all-around, and floor silver medalist and a five time Pan American Games gold medalist. At 12 years old she competed in the Junior Olympics National Championships and won fourth in the all-around, first on beam, and second on floor. In 2007 she represented the United States at the 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships and won the all-around gold medal. That same year she won the all-around at the 2007 Visa U.S. National Championships. She competed in the American Cup in 2007 and 2008 and won gold in the all-around in 2007 and silver in 2008. In 2008 at the Summer Olympics, she competed in all four events during the team competition. She won a gold medal on the balance beam and three silver medals in the team, floor, and all-around. Johnson wanted to compete in the 2012 Olympics, but in 2010 tore her ACL while skiing and had to have reconstructive knee surgery. She retired from gymnastics in 2012 due to continuing problems from her knee. In 2013 she was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame.